ABSTRACT Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, mainly no-tillage (NT), cover cropping (CC), soil fertilization with organic amendments (OA), and crop-livestock (CL) and crop-livestock-forestry (CLF) systems, has been widely adopted in areas from Brazilian Cerrado. The CSA may partly offset former soil C losses and contribute to climate change mitigation. However, contradictory findings brought uncertainties about the effect of CSA on soil C. Here, by a systematic review of 87 papers and using 621 data pairs, we provided a pervasive biome-scale analysis of soil C stock changes associated with the adoption of CSA across Brazilian Cerrado. All CSA practices evaluated showed average positive rates of C stock change, indicating a general tendency of soil C accretion after its adoption. In areas under NT, CC and CLF, greater rates were estimated for the deeper soil profile evaluated (0.00-1.00 m) (1.24 ± 0.85, 0.54 ± 0.54 and 1.00 ± 1.47 Mg ha–1 yr–1, respectively), while OA and CL showed more soil C accretion when the assessment was limited down to 0.10 m depth (0.82 ± 0.60 and 0.59 ± 0.66 Mg ha–1 yr–1, respectively). Unfortunately, the lack of basic information precluded any attempt to statically compare our estimations. In this sense, we must be cautious in stating that soil C sequestration occurs at those rates after the adoption of CSA practices. Despite these limitations, the results clearly show that the diversification and intensification of agricultural areas in the Cerrado by the adoption of CSA is a promising pathway to increase soil C stocks, and consequently, contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Finally, our findings emphasize the importance of efforts that stimulate farmers to adopt these practices on large scale, such as Brazil’s Low-Carbon Agriculture Plan, besides providing sound empirical evidence about the role of soil C sequestration in Brazil achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions commitments.

ABSTRACT The term Sum of Bases has different meanings in Soil Science and the Remineralizer Regulations. This issue may cause misunderstandings in communication, particularly between the agricultural community and the mining community, becoming an obstacle to the advancement of the use of this soil amendment. In this scientific note we propose the use of subscript “R” (SBR), standing for Rock, in English, and Rocha, in Brazilian Portuguese, and “S” (SBS) standing for Soil in English and Solo in Brazilian Portuguese. In this way SBR will refer to the Sum of Bases as defined in the Remineralizer Regulation (), and SBS to the Sum of Bases as defined in Soil Science (SBS = Ca (mmolc dm-3) + Mg (mmolc dm-3) + K (mmolc dm-3) + Na (mmolc dm-3)). This approach avoids confusion and facilitates the correct use of laboratory data. We provide a working example, a conversion table and a formula to estimate the potential increase in SBS caused by SBR.

ABSTRACT Podzols are highly sandy soils, in which elements, such as potassium, needed by crops, are easily leached. Studies have indicated that biochar can contribute to increasing cation exchange capacity of the soil, which can improve the retention of bases. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the poultry litter biochar combined or not with increasing doses of KCl, on leaching and soil base content, on the production of green manure biomass, and on the distribution of K in the soil-water-plant system. A 2 × 3 factorial experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with 6 repetitions: without and with biochar (1% v / v, produced from poultry litter) × without K, with 53.65 and 107.30 mg dm-3 of K (as KCl). The experiment was carried out in four steps: Step 1) Soil incubation with the treatments (for 20 days) followed by chemical analysis of the soil; Step 2) First leaching: the containers (made with PVC with 0.30 m high) received the newly incubated soil in the surface layer and soil without treatment in the subsurface layer. The containers received water until saturation plus 50 % of the total pore volume and the leached water was collected and analyzed; Step 3) Cultivation of green manure (Mucuna aterrima) in the containers of Step 2 and harvest within 40 days (evaluation of biomass and K content); Step 4) after the mucuna harvest, the containers were subjected to second leaching. The leaching solution and the soil from the surface and subsurface layers were collected for chemical analysis. Biochar increased the pH, cationic exchange capacity, P, K, Ca, and Mg levels in the newly incubated soil, in the surface and subsurface layer. The increasing doses of KCl proportionally increased biomass production and K accumulation in green manure, and the biochar increased this response and reduces the need for potassium fertilization by 50 %. With biochar, the accumulation of total K in the soil-plant-water system increases by 125 % and, in the soil-plant system, by 145 %. Biochar changes the K ratio in the soil-plant-water system. With biochar, proportionally, the highest accumulated percentage of K occurred mainly in the soil surface and subsurface layer, and did not result in higher percentages of K in the leached water. Biochar produced from poultry litter can be used as a good alternative to improve the chemical properties of Podzols and reduce nutrient losses.

ABSTRACT Afforestation of sites disturbed after bauxite mining is the favorite technique to restore all ecosystem functions. The nature of the tree species used for revegetation of post-mining land can accelerate the recovery of soil organic matter and nutrient cycles. This study aimed to determine the litterfall production, decomposition rate and nutrient content from three types of forest cover ( Eucalyptus , Anadenanthera peregrina , mixed plantation of 16 native species) planted in a bauxite mining area in recovery. Litterfall production was evaluated monthly over 30 months, and the litter mass was assessed twice a year (dry and rainy periods). Total nutrient content was determined from samples grouped by period (dry and rainy). The annual average values for litterfall dry mass and litter mass were higher in Eucalyptus and mixed native. The period (dry or rainy) did not influence litterfall rates in A. peregrina , but Eucalyptus and mixed native presented higher amounts for litterfall during the rainy and dry periods, respectively. Litter accumulation in Eucalyptus was not affected by the season of the year, but mixed native and A. peregrina presented higher litter accumulation in the dry season. Apparent decomposition rates of A. peregrina and mixed native were higher in the rainy season, highlighting the A. peregrina with the highest values compared with the other forest covers. The mixed native presented the highest leaf content of P, K, Ca and Mg in both the litterfall and litter mass, while Eucalyptus had the lowest P, K, Ca, S and N content and the highest C content in the litterfall. Litterfall production is important in degraded areas to ensure the nutrient return to the soil. The data obtained suggest that the cultivation of a mixed of 16 native trees contribute for produce the higher annual litterfall yields, besides produces leaf litterfall of better nutritional quality in relation to P, K, Ca, Mg and S. Therefore, mixed of native trees can be a promising option for reactivation of nutrient cycling and organic matter formation in mined area of bauxite in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

ABSTRACT Soil quality can be understood as its capacity to provide several essential services within the ecosystem and has been used to understand the impact of different managements, providing information that proves the benefits and your maintenance of the agroecosystem. To understand the impact of different managements, this study aimed to compare the chemical, physical, and biological soil properties in pasture areas managed with different recovery times in an integrated crop-livestock system about perennial pastures and secondary forest. The following management systems were evaluated: Secondary Forest (SF), Perennial Pasture (PP), pasture recovered to five years through the intercropping corn + Brachiaria brizantha (Palisade grass) (ICL5), and pasture recovered to eight years through the intercropping corn + Brachiaria brizantha (Palisade grass) (ICL8). Different soil properties were evaluated, namely: Chemical: pH, H+Al, Al 3+ , P, K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , TOC, SB, CEC, V, and m; Physical: soil bulk density (Bd), total porosity (Tp), macroporosity (Ma), microporosity (Mi), soil resistance to penetration (Pr), and gravimetric soil water content (GWc); and biological: soil microbial biomass carbon (SMB-C), basal soil respiration (BSR), metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ), and microbial quotient (qMic). Perennial pasture and ICL8 areas were the ones that most contributed to the increase in nutrients (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and K + ), TOC and sorption complex. The ICL8 area showed the best results in soil physical variables Ma, Tp, Pr, and GWc were the best results for the ICL8 area. Secondary forest and ICL8 areas presented the best results from SMB-C and qMic. Between periods of pasture recovery through the integration of crops and livestock, the longer the recovery time, the greater its beneficial effects on the different chemical, physical and biological soil properties, overcoming secondary forest and perennial pasture.

ABSTRACT Precision agriculture can improve the decision-making process in agricultural production, as it gathers, processes and analyzes spatial data, allowing, for example, specific fertilizer application in each location. One of the proposals to deal with spatial heterogeneity of the soil or the distribution of chemical properties is to define application zones (homogeneous subareas). These zones allow reducing both spatial variability of the yield of the crop under study and of the environmental impacts. Considering the soil data, application zones can also represent strata or indicators to direct future soil sampling, thus seeking sample size reduction, for example. This study aimed to obtain an optimized sampling redesign using application zones generated from the assessment of five clustering methods (Fuzzy C-means, Fanny, K-means, McQuitty and Ward). Soil samples were collected in an agricultural area located in the city of Cascavel-Paraná-Brazil, and analyzed in the laboratory to determine the soil chemical properties, referring to four soybean harvest years (2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017). The application zones were obtained through a dissimilarity matrix that aggregates information about the Euclidean distance between the sample elements and the spatial dependence structure of the properties. Subsequently, an optimized sampling redesign, with reduction of the initial sample points, was obtained in these application zones. For the harvest years under study, the K-means and Ward clustering methods efficiently defined the application zones, dividing the study area into two or three application zones. Among the reduced sample configurations obtained by the optimization process, when comparing the initial sample configuration, the one optimized by 25 % (selecting 75 % of the initial configuration points, which corresponds to 76 sample points) was the most effective in terms of the accuracy indices (overall accuracy, Kappa, Tau). This fact indicates greater similarity between the thematic maps of these sample configurations. In this way, the reduced sample configurations could be used to generate the application zones and reduce the costs regarding the laboratory analyses involved in the study.

ABSTRACT Mining is a significant driver of soil mobilization, which impacts its physical, chemical, and biological properties. Changes in land-use affect the distribution of organic matter fractions in stable aggregates, a process that is still poorly understood, especially in drastically altered areas. Recovering and monitoring soil quality to ensure the sustainable development of agricultural crops in these areas after mining is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of agronomic practices in soil rehabilitation in a bauxite-mined area after three years of field experiment installations through an assessment of organic properties in soil and aggregate classes; an attempt was also made at proposing and elaborating a Soil Quality Index (SQI), which encompasses the soil’s physical, chemical, and organic properties. Different combinations of fertilization treatments and ground cover plants intercropping with coffee were evaluated as rehabilitation practices. The results showed that after three years of rehabilitation, when organic (OF), chemical (CF), and OF+CF fertilizers were applied to the areas of coffee intercropped with Brachiaria (B), they provided higher C and N contents to the soil and aggregates classes, as well as the compartments of soil organic matter (SOM). The minimum set of soil quality indicators for reclaimed bauxite-mined areas was composed of organic indicators: labile organic carbon (LOC) and mineral-associated organic matter (C-MOM); chemical indicators including pH and effective cation-exchange capacity (t), and physical indicators such as the bulk density (BD) and stable aggregates index in water (SAIW). The t and pH were the variables most sensitive to the management systems implanted during the rehabilitation of the mined area, and, therefore, were considered the best indicators of soil quality. Brachiaria was the cover plant that contributed most to improving the soil quality of mined bauxite areas by increasing the SQI, especially when fertilized. In general, when applied to the Brachiaria, the OF+CF fertilization presented a SQI of 0.78, differing statistically from that of the natural vegetation (1.00). Fertilizers and cover crops in association with coffee in the bauxite-mined areas improved the physical, chemical, and organic properties of the soil, thus representing a viable option for reconditioning mineral exploration areas.

ABSTRACT No-tillage (NT) has been largely adopted in Brazil as a strategy for soil conservation, but for the last decade, there have been governmental incentives for its adoption arising from its potential for soil C accumulation. Notwithstanding, the soil mulch formed from crop residues favors the maintenance of soil moisture and nutrients in the upper soil layers, which stimulates soil microbial activity and may increase the potential for nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. In addition, double-cropping systems in the same year are typical in Brazil and the impact on the fraction of fertilizer N lost as N2O needs to be evaluated. This study aimed to assess the influence of soil tillage and N fertilization on N2O emissions in a wheat-soybean succession system as commonly practiced in southern Brazil. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Soybean research station located in Southern Brazil. Treatments were conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), with and without nitrogen fertilization for the wheat and no N fertilizer for the soybean. Closed-static chambers were used to monitor N2O fluxes for two consecutive years. Together with gas monitoring, soil samples were also taken and analyzed for mineral N, soil moisture and labile carbon. Soybean yields were higher under NT, which seemed to be the result of a higher soil water availability that helped to overcome extended periods without rainfall. Soil N2O emissions were similar between CT and NT, with just a tendency for higher emissions under NT. The highest emissions occurred from the soybean crop. In the second year under NT, the emissions from the soybean crop were higher when preceded by N-fertilized wheat, but the converse was true under CT. None of the soil variables consistently correlated with N2O emissions, with mineral-N as the best predictor in the second wheat cycle and soil moisture in the first soybean cycle. Calculated emission factors were not statistically different between CT and NT and consistently lower than the IPCC default of 1 %. The calculated N2O emission intensity by relating N2O emission to grain yield showed an environmental advantage of NT compared to CT by presenting a 44 % reduction in soybean and similar values for fertilized wheat.

ABSTRACT Biochar soil amendments are attracting attention as one strategy to improve soil microbially ecological environment and regulate the soil nitrogen cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of biochar application on agricultural soil improvement, nitrogen (N) mineralization and nitrification. The experiment was carried out on a typical farmland containing black soil and saline-alkaline soil in Northeast China. Four treatments were undertaken, including the control-treated black soil farmland (CS), the biochar-treated black soil farmland (BCS), the control-treated saline-alkali soil farmland (SAS), and the biochar-treated saline-alkaline soil farmland (BSAS). Basic physical and chemical properties, enzyme activity, and the contents of ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N) in the soil were subsequently determined. The co-occurrence networks of bacterial communities of the biochar and control treatment groups were constructed based on high-throughput sequencing data of the 16S rRNA genes. The results showed that the BCS and BSAS treatments significantly increased the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and available phosphorus. The application of biochar significantly increased the NH4+-N contents in the black soil and saline-alkaline soil by 81.78 and 80.08 %, respectively, while significantly reducing the soil NH4+-N/NO3--N content, which promoted the transformation of NH4+-N into NO3--N. Subsequently, the released NH4+-N was transformed into NO3--N through nitrification. After the biochar application, the NO3--N contents in the black and saline-alkaline soils could be fixed. The biochar application significantly increased the abundance of gdh, AOA-amoA, AOB-amoA, nirK, nirS, nosZ, and nifH genes, with no significant difference in the abundance of napA genes being found among different treatments. Microbes playing a key role in the co-occurrence network were Proteobateria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi. As compared with the CS and SAS treatments, under the BCS+BSAS treatment, the connectors, module hubs, connectedness, and clustering coefficient showed larger parameters, and the networks were more complex. The application of biochar gradually increased the nodes, edges, and average degree of the bacterial co-occurrence network, thus indicating that the interaction between microbial groups in the black and saline-alkaline soils post biochar application may be important in the biogeochemical cycle process in farmland soil.

ABSTRACT Soil mapping is a permanent demand, but the traditional method does not allow fast execution and low cost. Digital soil mapping (DSM) aims to improve the process by working with models that treat soil spatial variability quantitatively. In this perspective, the objective of the study is to perform DSM of the Parnaíba River Delta, Northeastern Brazil, through the decision tree (DT) integration technique using a set of attributes derived from the digital elevation model (DEM) and satellite images as input parameters. Data matrices were created considering different soil groups. The performance of the J48 machine learning algorithm (DT) was assessed for a set of two data matrices: one elaborated for the mapping units of the pre-existing conventional pedological map and the other for a set of associations determined based on the characteristics of the landscape of the study area with close correlation with the existing soils, mainly due to the source material. From the data processing, digital soil maps were created and validated by means of error matrices, whose reference points were classified in the field and validated using a pre-existing traditional soil map of the area. The results revealed that the attributes derived from satellite images stood out from those derived from DEM in predicting soil groups. Based on the validation coefficients applied (overall accuracy, Kappa index, user’s accuracy and producer’s accuracy), the classification quality was satisfactory, despite the complexity of the environment.

ABSTRACT Application of organic fertilizers of animal origin can increase organic carbon in the soil and increase its content in macroaggregates. This study aimed to evaluate carbon contents and fractions in two classes of soil aggregates in response to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers in an integrated crop-livestock system. The experiment was established in Concórdia, Santa Catarina State, in a Nitossolo Vermelho Eutroférrico típico, (Rhodic Kandiudox according to the WRB system) (0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10, and 0.10-0.20 m), in an integrated crop-livestock, with corn and soybean in the summer, black oat and rye in the winter, shepherded by sheep. The design used was randomized blocks, with treatments in factorial design (5 × 3 + 1), with four replications, five sources of fertilizers, three rates and the control with no fertilization. Three organic fertilizers were applied: poultry litter, pig manure and compost; and two minerals fertilizers: M1 (formulated according to the composition of the pig slurry) and M2 (adjusted according to the composition of the poultry litter), combined with three applications rates, corresponding to 75, 100 and 150 % of the recommendation for the crop of interest, based on the element with greater demand. Total organic carbon (TOC), particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAC) contents were determined in two classes of soil aggregates C1 (8.00 to 4.76 mm) and C2 (4.76 to 2.00 mm), in samples collected in the 2018/2020 crop season. Crop yields were determined in every season. The results were analyzed using analysis of variance to compare sources and polynomial regression analysis for fertilizer rates. The soil has high aggregate stability, even so, the use of organic and mineral fertilizers increased aggregation. The poultry litter organic fertilizer increases aggregation, forming largely aggregates with a size of 8.00-4.76 mm, and increases the contents of total fractions of soil organic carbon, providing the system with a more stabilized carbon. In the 0.00-0.05 m layer, organic fertilizers increased the content of total organic carbon. The stabilized fraction (MAC) showed a higher proportion of total soil organic carbon than particulate organic carbon (POC).

ABSTRACT Paddy rice production based on traditional soil management emits large amounts of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. This study assessed the potential of no-tillage (NT) and winter cover crops (WCC) to mitigate net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a subtropical paddy rice ecosystem. A long-term (20-yrs) experiment was evaluated regarding the effect of NT combined with winter fallow or three WCC (ryegrass, white oat, and birdsfoot trefoil) on seasonal CH4 -C and nitrous oxide (N2O-N) emissions and on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in comparison to conventional tillage (CT) under winter fallow in a Gleysol of Southern Brazil. The changes in SOC were used as a proxy for annual net carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges in the soil-atmosphere, taking the CT treatment as a reference. The GHG balance (summation of CH4 , N2O and CO2 emissions multiplied by their global warming potential of 34, 298, and 1, respectively) and emissions intensity of GHG emissions were calculated. Across winter managements, NT decreased 25 % of GHG emissions in comparison to CT system. This effect was mainly related to the decrease of seasonal CH4 -C emissions (31-113 kg ha-1) and by promoting SOC accumulation (0.45-0.65 Mg ha-1yr-1) in comparison to CT system, since soil N2 O-N emission was not affected by management practices. Increased soil CH4 -C emissions offset the positive effect of WCC on SOC accumulation compared with winter fallow. Based on our findings, NT mitigates net GHG emissions in subtropical paddy rice ecosystems, but no additional effect is observed combining NT with WCC.

ABSTRACT The use of organic fertilizers from pig slurry and poultry litter can increase soil organic carbon and crop productivity. This study aimed to evaluate soil organic carbon fractions and corn yield after applying organic and mineral fertilizers. The experiment was conducted in the western region of Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil on a Nitossolo Vermelho Eutroférrico típico (Rhodic Kandiudox). The production system was an integrated crop-livestock using corn and soybean in the summer and black oat and rye with grazing by sheep in the winter. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with treatments in factorial 5 × 3 + 1, with four replications, five sources of fertilizers, three rates and the control with no fertilization. The treatments were three organic fertilizers: poultry litter, pig slurry and compost from pig slurry and two minerals fertilizer (M1 and M2). Mineral fertilizers were formulated from pig slurry (M1) and poultry litter (M2), with the application of three rates, which represent 75, 100 and 150 % of the recommendation for the crop, based on the element that is most demanding by the plant (K for soybeans and N for corn). Soil samples were collected at the layers of 0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m in which fractions of total soil organic carbon (TOC), namely particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAC) were determined. Corn yield was evaluated in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. The results were analyzed through analysis of variance to compare sources and polynomial regression analysis for fertilizer rates. The MAC fraction has a higher proportion of TOC and its contents were higher with increasing rates of organic and mineral fertilizers, mainly in the surface layer. Poultry litter and compost fertilizers increased TOC’s particulate fraction (POC), showing the highest levels at the highest fertilization recommendation rate. Organic and mineral fertilizers positively increase corn yield, and animal-derived fertilizers show that they can be an alternative for high crop yields.

ABSTRACT In the Cerrado, the palm swamps ( veredas ) are characterized by being humid and stable environments that lead to the formation of Histosols ( Organossolos ). and soils with surface horizons of organic constitution, which are fragile and sensitive to anthropic action. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of anthropization (recurrent forest fires and livestock farming) on the chemical, physical and morphological properties of soils in two palm swamps in the Environmental Preservation Area (EPA) of Pandeiros River, Minas Gerais, namely: Água Doce, in preserved condition, and Taboa, in anthropized condition. Four soil profiles were morphologically described, two profiles in each palm swamp, with subsequent chemical and physical analyses, calculations of organic carbon stock and identification of the origin of organic matter. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Soil morphological properties were influenced by vegetation cover, drainage and anthropization conditions. As for the physical and chemical properties, adequate values were observed in the preserved palm swamp, including lower bulk density values and higher cation contents. Anthropic actions in the anthropized palm swamp caused degradation of soils, revealed by subsidence, reduction in organic carbon content, increase in bulk density and decrease in fertility. Changes promoted in the soils of the palm swamps compromise ecosystem services, indicating that actions at either local or governmental level should be stimulated for the preservation and conservation of these environments.

ABSTRACT Agroforestry systems have the potential to increase soil organic matter, with effects on soil carbon and nitrogen contents, but information on the application of these systems in semi-arid regions is still scarce. This study aimed to analyze soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in the conversion of native forest from the Caatinga Biome into integrated agriculture systems in the Brazilian semi-arid region. We evaluated the following management systems in the Haplic Inceptisol (Cambissolo Háplico eutrófico): (1) Intercropping area, cultivated with corn and Massai grass; (2) Caatinga (natural vegetation); (3) AFS10: agroforestry system with native woody forest rows occupying 33 % and agriculture occupying 66 % of the total area; and (4) AFS20: agroforestry system presenting inverse proportions of AFS10. The agroforestry systems were intercropped with sorghum or millet, pigeon pea and Massai grass. We collected disturbed and undisturbed soil samples at the layers of 0.00-0.10; 0.10-0.20; 0.20-0.40, 0.40-0.60 and 0.60-1.00 m for analysis of carbon (SOC), nitrogen (N), soil bulk density, and calculation of SOC and N stocks and C/N ratio, two years after the conversion of natural vegetation to the agricultural area (intercropping) and agroforestry system (AFS10 and AFS20). We applied principal component and cluster analysis to explore the data, and confidence interval to compare the means of accumulated SOC and N stocks up to 1 m soil depth. No differences exist for the properties analysed in superficial layers (0.00-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m), regardless of land-use systems. AFS20 increase the SOC content and, consequently, SOC stock, in subsurface layers; on the other hand, intercropping increases N content and N stock. AFS20 presented higher accumulated SOC stocks up to 1.00 m (114.97 Mg ha-1). Agroforestry systems management is an alternative for increasing carbon sequestration under the conversion from Caatinga to agricultural areas.